[EZ2Luv]

Being a caregiver to a parent is a very lonely and isolated world. I had to take a leave from work after cutting my hours. Finally at one point I stopped working because my Mom was requiring more care. My Dad finally decided to retire well into his 70s and that was kind of a break for me as Mom could not be left alone. Mom did not qualify for any programs because of their assets so any pay would have come out of their pockets.
While my parents had great insurance (so they thought) it did not cover or touch any long term care..
This was another battle. They kept the same insurace plan they had when thye were a young growing family, never bothered to change things like planning for the future so it was abattle straightening out their estate. I won't even get into that one. It has been since Nov 2003 since Mom has been in the nursing home. The ONLY reason why she is there is because she required multiple peopel to meet her needs. My Dad is a frail 86 yr old and our fear was if she fell he would try to lift her(Mom is well over 200lbs).
Though I am a nurse one person providing care was not doable and it was not fair to her to be denied the care she required and deserved.
Of course the situation is different for my Mom as she is basically a 200 and something pound infant. She is uanable to speak or even mover herself around. However she is thriving and does smile when she sees us and will even give a kiss.
I waited until I basically had no choice to place her and it happened in a way where the decision was made for us. Mom had gotten a fever and UTI which landed her in the hospital. That is when the Alzhimers went into full swing and she could no longer feed herself, speak, walk ect. The hospital suggested skilled nursing facillity.(a fancy name for a nursing home) to see if she might recover some ofher ability. This did not happen and as a result Mom has been there.

Even with her in the home it is very important to be visable and advocate for her.
I see her daily and wouldn't have it any other way.

EZ